The To-Do List

COMEDY

Sex in a Primitive Age

7.0 out of 10 | Rental

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Rated: R Pervasive strong crude and sexual content, including graphic dialogue, drug and alcohol use, and language (all involving teens)
Release Date: July 26, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes

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Director: Maggie Carey
Writers: Maggie Carey
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Scott Porter, Rachel Bilson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Andy Samberg, Donald Glover, Connie Britton, Clark Gregg

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SYNOPSIS: Feeling pressured to become more sexually experienced before she goes to college, Brandy Klark makes a list of things to accomplish before hitting campus in the fall.

REVIEW: Funny or Die Presents writing and directing alumni Maggie Carey promotes herself to the big leagues by writing and directing a semi-autobiographical tale of a teenage girl trying to discover her sexual identity in an age before the Internet.

Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed) is valedictorian at her high school, with a full ride scholarship waiting for her in the fall. She intends to work at the local Boise public pool, earn money, and go through her check list to get ready for college. The year is 1993 and Brandy has excelled at everything she put her mind to - from the time she was a little girl. The only think she has been conquered is her virginity. With her friends Fiona (Alia Shawkat, Ruby Sparks) and Wendy (Sarah Steele, Last Kind Words), Brandy sets out with an ambitious plan to create a sexual to do list to get through before she ships off to college. With muscular musician man hunk Rusty Waters (Scott Porter, Dear John) in her sights as her sexual prize, Brandy starts 'scamming' her guy friends and a good friend Cameron (Johnny Simmons, 21 Jump Street) who had a crush in her to help check off each bullet point of her list.

The writer/director creates a to do list from her own life, bringing to the screen a taste of her own teenage sexual self discovery. From Brandy's friends, to her broken down excuse for boss Willy (Bill Hader, Turbo), to her overly promiscuous sister Amber (Rachel Bilson, Jumper), to parents who are worlds apart on the reviews of sexual awareness, Brandy is faced with one of the most dire decisions a teenager could face - When am I going to have sex? To a teenager, sex is one of the most important what-ifs of their lives. What starts up being the most important thing before adulthood, sometimes ends up not being important at all after the fact.

As Brandy goes through her journey between high school and college, she is faced with corndog friends like Duffy (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, This is the End), a lovesick lab partner named Cameron, the college-aged public pool Adonis named Rusty, and a pair of girlfriends more than willing to dish out poor advice on a topic they know little about. Of course, sometimes the advice of 'mature' adults do is little better. Brandy's mom (Connie Britton, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) is all about giving her girls 'the talk' while their father (Clark Gregg, The Avengers) would rather his daughters stay virginal until well into their 40s. And semi homeless public pool manager Willy, who can't even swim, worries more about his next beer than in the safety of the kids in his chlorinated water.

The To Do List hearkens back to a simpler age before the Internet, cell phones and Google. When Brandy needs to find out what certain sexual terms mean she has to do her research through the Encyclopedia Britannica or making a note as a reminder to ask the local librarian. The film could even be a cautionary tale about how quickly a young person's age of innocence disappears in our modern technological age.

The writer/director smartly uses all the most sexually laced music to properly backdrop her story. The movie even starts the opening titles with Luke Skywalker and the Too Live Crew with 'So Horny', a song banned from most households, but a mix tape classic passed between teenagers. And the early 90s choice of hair accessories are perfect for a little Flashback-ing.

The To Do List is a look back at a time when the age of innocence occurs when a teenager stood on the precipice of sexual discovery and adulthood. Today, innocence is lot as soon as a child ventures out their front door or turns on an iPad. A look at a simpler sexual era, The To Do List is interesting and silly, but somehow played out.

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Turbo

ANIMATED, FAMILY

He's Fast. They're Furious.

8.5 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

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Rated: PG Some mild action and thematic elements
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

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Director: David Soren
Writers: Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel, David Soren
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Samuel L. Jackson, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Mario Andretti, Mike Bell

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SYNOPSIS:  A freak accident might just help an everyday garden snail achieve his biggest dream: winning the Indy 500.

REVIEW: David Soren has had his hands in the creation of Shark Tale, Madagascar videos and television shorts, and Over the Hedge. Now he hits the big time as the director for an animation bout a snail who dreams of speed. Building a shell for the slug is Jack the Giant Slayer scribe Darren Lemke and Big Fan writer Robert D. Siegel, focusing on a little snail that could.

Theo (Ryan Reynolds, The Croods) is a normal garden variety garden snail. He dreams of going fast, following in the footsteps of his idol and legendary Indy car driver Guy Gagne (Bill Hader, The To-Do List). His brother Chet (Paul Giamatti, Rock of Ages) tries to get Theo to stop thinking about speed and to start thinking about what all other snails think about - tending to the garden and harvesting tomatoes. When an accident makes Theo reassess his slow life, he finds himself injected with nitrous oxide which gives him super speed. Both Theo "Turbo" and his brother are found by a taco seller named Tito (Michael Pena, Gangster Squad) who dreams of making his and his brother Angelo's (Luis Guzman, The Last Stand) taco stand successful. When Tito finds out about Turbo's speed, he and the snail decide to enter Turbo in the Indianapolis 500 race to gain exposure and acclaim!

Dreamworks has a knack for creating unique and interesting animated stories. While Disney Pixar seems to have started to rely on sequels like toy story and spin-offs like the upcoming Planes, dreamworld has dazzled with their recent efforts. Turbo is no exception. Taking a story of a snail that wants to race seems absurd, but they make a great story out of it anyway.

Turbo has a silly cast of characters, especially when dealing with snails. Even though turbo has NOS speed, that doesn't stop other 'need for speed' snails from slithering out of the woodwork. Led by Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson, The Avengers), Turbo encounters Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg, Starsky and Hutch), Burn (Maya Rudolph, The Way Way Back), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz, The Other Guys), and White Shadow (Mike Bell, Kung Fu Panda 2). All of them are decked out in racing strips and tail fins. Joining the snails are a human cast of characters that seem to have move faith in a turbo-charged snail than Theo's own brother. Tito recruits the other owners in the starlight plaza, including auto mechanic Paz (Michelle Rodriguez, Fast and Furious 6), hobby store owner Bobby (Richard Jenkins, Killing Them Softly), and nail stylist Kim Ky (Ken Jeong, Despicable Me 2).

The animation is dazzling, on par or better than the raceway created on Disney's Cars. From the grooves in the track, to the camera work around and under the other Indy cars, to the discarded tire rubber 'pebbles' on turn four, Turbo does not disappoint. No where near photo realistic, Turbo lets the snails and their human counterparts take on their characters with their voices. The snails are cute and loveable, each with an unique look. The streak trail that Turbo leaves behind is a character all its own, allowing Turbo to speak to Tito in pictionary format when the snail needs to get his point across.

When you are a snail that dreams of speed, you are an outcast from the rest of the snail world. When dreams come reality, Turbo still finds himself a loner until he meets other snails that share his racing vision. At the end of the day, though, Turbo must rely on his own heart and spirit - not turbo-charged speed - if he is to get the job done.

Turbo is a fun ride for kids and adults. Silly, well-rendered, and having a great story of heart and of following a dream, this film will get your motor running.

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Men In Black 3

Back To The Future

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Rated: PG-13  Sci-fi action violence, and brief suggestive content
Release Date: May 25, 2012
Runtime:  1 hr 43 mins

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Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writers: Lowell Cunningham, David Koepp, Etan Cohen, Jeff Nathanson, Michael Soccio
Cast:  Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Bill Hader, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alice Eve

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SYNOPSIS: Agent J travels back in time to MIB's early years in the 1960s in order to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.

REVIEW: Barry Sonnenfeld, director of both Men in Black, Men in Black II, plus Get Shorty and both Addams Family films, returns ten years after the last MIB film to let us catch another glimpse of the the odd couple agents that entralled us in the original film in 1997. Using a collective of writers for the third installment, Sonnenfeld employs the scribing talents of Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder), David Koepp (Angels and Demons), Jeff Nathanson (Tower Heist), and Michael Soccio (The Kings of Queens), all based on the original comic by Lowell Cunningham.

Agent J (Will Smith, Seven Pounds) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones, Captain America: The First Avenger) continue to thwart alien incidents that affect New York and the outer boroughs, Agent J still wondering why his partner is so sullen and stoic. One of Agent K's early arrests, Boris the Animal (Jermaine Clement, Dinner for Schmucks), escapes from the super maximum Lunar Max moon prison with forty years of hatred for the man who took his freedom and one of his arms. Hatching a plan to erase the one mistake of his past, Boris promptly finds an illegal time jump device with the expressed focus to kill Agent K before he is arrested and before he loses an arm. When Agent J wakes the next day and is the only person to remember that Agent K was just alive yesterday instead of being killed in 1969, the new head of MIB Agent O (Emma Thompson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2) points Agent J to the same source for time jumping that Boris had used, an electronics store owner Jeffrey Price (Michael Chemus, The Big C). Once in the past, Agent J comes across the younger, more hopeful and easy-going Agent K (Josh Brolin, True Grit), head Agent X (David Rasche, United 93) and a young vibrant Ms. O (Alice Eve, The Raven) in an attempt to save his partner before Agent K becomes nothing more than a distant memory.

Starting in 1997, Barry Sonnenfeld brought Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith together as the supreme odd couple protecting the earth from the scum of the universe. With the veteran, seen-too-much-in-his-career Agent K and the young, hot-headed upstart policeman turned naive intergalactic cop, the first entry based on the Malibu Comics had plenty of action, comedy and story to go around. Five years later, the crew returned with another adventure that combined comedy, a cast of quirky alien characters and villains, and a story worth telling. Now, fifteen years after the start of their journey, Agents J and K return for possibly their last adventure.

In Men In Black 3, the spirit of the story continues seamlessly from the first sequel - even with so much time passed. Tommy Lee and Will settle into the same crotchety rhythm that was so appealing in the first two films. Like in the second movie, though, Tommy Lee Jones' role is critical but diminished. In fact, in Men In Black 3, Tommy Lee sets the stage for the tale but disappears altogether in the wrinkled timeline in favor of the younger version in Brolin. Smith has to take a brand new tact with Brolin's young Agent K, unsure how the young agent turns into the cranky old man that recruited him into the MIB. Sonnenfeld makes sure to keep the same chrome and curved look and feel as the other MIB movies, with the addition of 60s era cars, fashions, and politics. And Brolin does entertain as he nails the young Agent K with his tone and mannerisms.

One of the things that seems to be missing from MIB3 is an edge of humor. In MIB, we were delighted by a talking pug, a morgue clerk embodied by David Cross, a pawn shop alien Jack Jeebs (Tony Shalhoub, Monk) and a twitchy insectoid alien in a meat suit named Edgar played well with Vincent D'Onofrio. In MIB2, Shalhoub, Cross and the pug returned, and the evil shape-shifting villainess Serleena (Lara Flynn Boyle) was accompanied by the loony and goofy side kick Scrad (Johnny Knoxville). In MIB3, the villain Boris is all venom and bony shards, with no redeeming or humorous qualities. The pug is gone. Cross and Shalhoub are missing in action. The worms are back in brief cameos and the majority of the jokes rest squarely on Smith's shoulders. He has broad shoulders, but even Smith can only handle so much. Michael Stuhlbarg (Hugo) is cast as the last of his kind fifth-dimensional alien Griffin who sees all possible futures at once and who may hold the key to defending the modern day alien invasion with a 1960s trinket, reminding me of a overly sedate young Robin Williams.

Men In Black 3 has dazzling practical and creature effects. Rick Baker mixes 1960s nostalgia with wonderful CGI FX with the many layered creepy crawly alien assassin Boris. The story continues in the fine tradition that Sonnenfeld, Jones and Smith crafted fifteen years ago. The story feels both rushed and leisurely at times, taking in many sights without the opportunity to soak in the ambiance. Smith's Agent J asks Brolin's Agent K how old he was with the response of twenty-nine. Agent J comments that he must have some city miles on 'em. It's always fun to peek into the world of MIB, but it may be time for some additional new blood or time to hang up the suit and shades.

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WORTH:  Matinee or DVD

Paul

A Cute Encounter Of The Third Kind

Director: Greg Mottola

Writer: Nick Frost, Simon Pegg

Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, John Carroll Lynch

RANT: Movie-going with my housemate. Always a roll of the dice if she is going to like the movies she says she wants to go to. I was lucky this time, although she is not the reviewer here. Another interesting development... I purchased a soda and, halfway through the movie, my housemate stuck her hand in the cup to get some ice. Instead of ice, she pulled out the nozzle from the soda fountain. What a crazy day!

SYNOPSIS: Two Londoners make a trip of a lifetime, starting with the San Diego Com-Con and planning a trip to tourist alien hot spots across the American West. Their plans go out the window when they "encounter" a true alien, Paul.

Director Greg Mottola strays from raunchy and stoic comedy to beam in on an action/comedy/adventure/buddy/road-trip flick starring a wide-eyed extra-terrestrial named Paul. Gathering all of his acting pals from Arrested Development (Jason Bateman), Adventureland (Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader), the writers of Paul (Simon Pegg, Nick Frost) and Superbad (Seth Rogen).

Following Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost) on their American holiday from their starting point at the San Diego Comic Com with plans to visit alien hot spots across the west, they unwittingly have a close encounter with Paul, an alien on the run from the government after working with them for 60 years. When Paul pleads for help, Graeme and Clive roll the dice and strike out on an adventure they never expected. In their travels, they find the government, hill-billies and a bible-thumping shotgun-toting father all chasing after them and their RV.

Seth Rogen, voicing Paul, uses his distinct frat boy, man-child with a heart of gold style to perfection. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost look like they had come directly from Shaun of the Dead (minus Nick being a video game playing zombie), still best of friends. Kristin Wiig brings her kooky, sometimes distracting, characters from SNL and rolled them into Bible devotee Ruth Buggs.

Paul is a quick-paced road trip, complete with car chases, big guns and bigger government-issued sun glasses. Not only does Mottola take us into the Comic Com, he pays homage to a slew of comic, sci-fi and pop culture films throughout Graeme and Clive's adventures. Paul is a high-flying saucer ride - witty, funny and tender. Just be advised, Paul seems like it was made for kids, but it is rated-R for a foul-mouthed reason.

Worth: Matinee or DVD

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